Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

On a point of order, in her reply the Tánaiste indicated that today's exchanges would be the conclusion of the discussion on the banking issue. As Deputy Burton has pointed out, we agreed yesterday to the 90 minute arrangement which is provided for today. Our understanding in agreeing to that was that the debate would resume on the issue after Easter and would remain on the Order Paper in the same way as, for example, statements on the budget remain on the Order Paper and are returned to over a period of time. I would like the Tánaiste to clarify that point.

My second point also concerns a point of order. On the issue of the banking inquiry, the Government issued a statement yesterday evening in which it stated that it would make available papers and documents to the inquiry if it sought them. The papers and documents concerned are relevant to the Government's decision to include Anglo Irish Bank in the bank guarantee scheme. The problem with that, from the point of view of the Standing Orders of the House, is that the terms of reference of the inquiry exclude the Government's decisions in respect of the guarantee and the month of September 2008. I want the Tánaiste to clarify a point regarding this matter, namely, whether the Government will bring into the House a proposal to amend the terms of reference of the inquiry to allow for the Government's decisions to be subject to the inquiry and to allow September 2008, which was a critical month, to be subject to that inquiry.

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